Thursday, November 20, 2008

The weather has officially changed. I am running the heat in the morning, the guinea pigs have moved inside, and the flannel sheets are out of hiding. Last night, I finally finished reading "The Long Winter" to the girls. We have so much to be thankful for--- if you have kids that sometimes forget how richly blessed modern day life is, I highly recommend reading it aloud.

Anyway. Today I am thankful that I met Kalyn Denny at BlogHer, and I am so happy to have found her Turkey and Wild Rice Soup. Adam proclaimed it the best turkey soup he's ever had, and the kids each ate two bowls. I may have wept. I'm not sure.

The Ingredients.adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen--turkey carcass (if you don't have one, you can use 2 cups of cooked turkey)--8 cups water (to make broth. if you don't have a carcass, use 8 cups chicken broth)--1 chicken bouillon cube (only if you are using the carcass to make broth. Don't use if you're using broth.)--2/3 cup uncooked wild rice--1 yellow onion, chopped--1 cup chopped celery--1 cup chopped carrots--1 tsp sage--2 T balsamic vinegar--2 cups spinach leaves (Kalyn used cabbage, but cabbage reminds me either of engorgement or the cabbage soup diet)

The Directions.

I used a 6.5 quart crockpot.

This is a 1 1/2 day project. We're going to use the turkey bones to make broth for the soup. If you are using chicken broth and 2 cups of turkey, bypass this step.

Put your turkey carcass into a crockpot, and cover with 8 cups of water. My carcass was only from a tiny turkey, so if you need to break the bones down to fit in your crock, do so.My turkey was still stuffed with a quartered onion and some apple, so I didn't bother to add any vegetables to season the water. You may certainly add some onion, celery, or anything else you'd like to season the broth. The more meat and skin left on the bones, the more flavorful the broth.Cover and cook on low overnight. I cooked the broth for 10 hours. In the morning, put on an apron to strain the broth with a colander. What? No apron? Perhaps you could use a brand-spanking-new "I Heart CrockPotting" one? Since I have a bunch of crockpots, I strained the broth into a new one. You might need to strain the broth into a big bowl, then dump it back into the crockpot.

Pick off the meat, and add it to the broth.

Chop up the vegetables (not the spinach), and add to the pot. Dump in the wild rice. Add the sage, bouillon cube, and balsamic vinegar. Stir.

Add two heaping handfuls of baby spinach to the pot. It will look like a lot, but will shrivel down nicely while cooking.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6. The soup is done when the vegetables have reached desired tenderness. There is a lot of volume here; this is a good candidate for a day when you are out of the house for a long time. No need to worry about it over-cooking.

The Verdict.

This is my new favorite soup. I love, love, love the hint of tartness from the balsamic vinegar, and how it darkened the broth. The wild rice exploded a bit, and actually resembled barley by the time we ate it. The kids ate a bunch, and I had at least 3 bowls throughout the day yesterday. We have a quart left, which I will happily serve for lunch.

not a stupid question! Put the soup together, and put the box of frozen spinach in a bowl to thaw while the soup is cooking. An hour or so before serving, squeeze the moisture out of the spinach and stir it in.

Thanks for another great recipe. I, too, loved the pumpkin latte recipe and am now addicted to it! WHEN do we get the chocolate peppermint mocha recipe that was listed as coming soon on your Thanksgiving list? I want it NOW (ala Violet from the original Willie Wonka movie.)

Cabbage! Engorgement! Oh my stars, I have laughed until I cried. Just not at all what I was expecting in a recipe, but it sure took me back to those stupefying days of nursing a newborn. Thanks not only for the recipe but for laugh, as well.

Just got finished eating my second bowl of this for dinner. This was SOOO good! I had never used wild rice in a soup before - I love how it cooked all day long with the rest of the soup. Thank you so muchf or this great recipe!

My name is Brenda, and I'm a crock pot addict. Just found your blog! I'll be back! Gonna make the turkey wild rice soup. Don't worry, wild rice is SUPPOSED TO look like that. It isn't supposed to be eaten when is is still crunchy sticks. Yuck! Thanks so much for your blog and recipes. Please keep it up!

here's a thought...if you got a small turkey breast, you could use the chicken broth and cook it in the same fashion that you did the Salsa Chicken! with just my husband and I, a whole turkey is WAY to much. and the white meat is much leaner. cook all day and it will be tender and flake into the soup!

my goal this winter is to make soup at least once a week. thanks for all the GREAT recipes!

I made this today, and would definitely recommend adding more water or broth. I am not that experienced at crock pot cooking and mine was almost dry when I came home. However, I added some more water and some salt to it and it tasted good.

I'm dying to try this recipe! A couple of questions: a) would substituting another kind of vinegar substantially change the taste? (I have cider vinegar and red wine vinegar); and b) how would using a mix of wild rice and brown rice work? Again, something I already have on hand . . .

Hi there! using brown rice would work fine, but it will disappear a bit on you if it's in the whole time. Rice tends to explode if in too long. I'd stir it in 2 hours before serving, if you can. Otherwise, precook some while you're assembling the soup, and stir it in when you get home for the day.

I made this soup tonight- cold, rainy and bone chilling November night in Pittsburgh. I used my (woefully) overcooked, leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It was unsuited for anything but soup! Soup was delicious. Also- try the pasta fagioli (0ctober recipe) it was a really big hit. Love your blog. Such a wide range of ideas. I'll admit that I'm a soup/stew person when it comes to the slow cooker. Anxious to try the granola recipe to move beyond my "comfort zone".

Thank you for helping me feel like a real cook this past weekend! My oven cooked turkey turned out great but my favorite part was sticking the carcass in the CrockPot Thursday night with the veggies and waking up to the most delicious smell EVER! Then on Saturday, I put together this soup and it was awesome! Unfortunately, I couldn't get my sick husband or picky kids to join in my enthusiasm so I wanted to share with you! I love your blog. I just recently found it and have found renewed motivation in the kitchen. I was definitely in a cooking slump! I am looking forward to trying all of the recipes that I am behind on!

I am in a dinner club where every week we each take turns making dinner for the other families.

I made this recipe (with frozen turkey from Christmas!) and it was really unbelievable! I questioned that it did not have much seasoning, but the flavors were dynamite! I can't wait to hear how my friends liked it!

I made your recipe with alternate ingredients. I had a Pheasant from a hunting trip this week, so I was looking for a good recipe to combine the pheasant with some wild rice that a friend from Minnesota had given me. I made some slices across the breast meat and cooked down the whole bird, some onion, celery, and carrots. I added a cup or so of crimini mushrooms. I rinsed and added the rice, spinach, some BokChoy, and mushrooms a couple hours into the cooking process but the rice still got mushy. Guess next time I will do like I do when making other soups with rice and add it in the last hour or so. We did leave for the afternoon, so you can still go out while this is cooking. Oh, I did have to add some salt and pepper, but the amount is up to the individual.

and i thought i was the only one who used cabbage for engorgement, lol!! i'm loving your blog and can't believe i've missed it all these years :( tried the apple coffee cake tonight and i will never again be able to make a single recipe as my family attacked it like ravished wolves. your blog is awesome and you are hilarious!! ~Kati :)

Well, the turkey is in the crockpot, and hate to wish the day away, but can't wait to taste it!

Happy to see folks reading Laura Ingalls Wilder books! My husband's grandfather was "Banker Ruth" in The Long Winter, and lived a couple of doors down from the Ingalls family in DeSmet, SD. His home has been restored and is now a B&B.

I adore Kalyn. It was through her site that I found you for the Mashed Potato recipe. I'm on the South Beach diet for life and am gluten intolerant, which is why I looked for a turkey and rice soup instead of one with noodles. We are fortunate that this time of year in Florida we have greens in the yard. We added kale instead of spinach. It was AWESOME. I won't say this is on my rotation list, but it is definitely on my list for what to do with turkey next time we roast it. By the way, I am now up from one crock pot to five, ranging in all different sizes. Who would have thunk it.

Oh my gosh! This soup was amazing and I'm not much of a soup lover. I wasn't sure about the balsamic vinegar, but after eating the soup, I totally get it. My family absolutely loved it. Thank you so much!

Ok. Turkey wings were on sale and I bought two instead of buying cooked turkey (didn't have a carcass eithier). I'm going to wing it (ha! pun intended) and throw them wings in there for as long as the soup requires and see what happens...Is it going to be a disaster??

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